Charles-Antoine Coypel (French, 1694--1752)
Andromache and Pyrrhus, c. 1732 - 1732
Oil on Canvas
130.5 x 163 cm. (51.4 x 64.2 in.)
Private collection
Andromaque is a tragedy in five acts by the French playwright Jean Racine written in alexandrine verse.
The play takes place in the aftermath of the Trojan War, during which Andromache's husband Hector, son of Priam, has been slain by Achilles and their young son Astyanax has narrowly escaped a similar fate at the hands of Ulysses. More on Andromache and Pyrrhus
Charles-Antoine Coypel (11 July 1694 – 14 June 1752) was a French painter, art commentator, and playwright. He became court painter to the French king and director of the Académie Royale. He inherited the title of Garde des tableaux et dessins du roi (Keeper of the paintings and drawings of the king), a function which combined the role of director and curator of the king's art collection. He was mainly active in Paris.
Antoine Coypel (1661–1722)
The Swooning of Esther, c. circa 1704
Oil on canvas
Height: 105 cm (41.3 in); Width: 137 cm (53.9 in)
Louvre Museum
Esther is described in all versions of the Book of Esther as the Jewish queen of a Persian king Ahasuerus. In the narrative, Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, refuses to obey him, and Esther is chosen for her beauty. The king's chief adviser, Haman, is offended by Esther's cousin and guardian, Mordecai, and gets permission from the king to have all the Jews in the kingdom killed. Esther foils the plan, and wins permission from the king for the Jews to kill their enemies, and they do so. Her story provides a traditional background for Purim, which is celebrated on the date given in the story for when Haman's order was to go into effect, which is the same day that the Jews killed their enemies after the plan was reversed. More on Esther
Athalie questions Joas, c. 1741
Oil on canvas
Brest Métropole Museum of Fine Arts.
Athaliah’s husband, Jehoram, was king of Judah until his death in 841 BC. Jehoram was a wicked king. Athaliah’s son, Ahaziah, at the age of 22, ascended to the throne, and proved himself just as evil as his father. Ahaziah served as king of Judah for less than one year, for he was assassinated along with Israel’s ailing king, Joram.
When Athaliah received word that her son was dead, she seized the opportunity to usurp the throne by murdering Ahaziah’s sons—her own grandsons—thus eradicating the entire royal family so she could take the throne. Unbeknownst to Athaliah, a single grandchild escaped the massacre. Jehosheba, the baby’s aunt and the wife of the high priest Jehoiada, took the infant Joash and hid him and his nurse.
As queen, Athaliah used her influence to further establish Baal worship in Judah, installing priests and building altars for her idol in the very temple of the Lord.
After Athaliah had reigned six years, the high priest Jehoiada set guards around the temple and publicly crowned the young Joash as the rightful king. As the new king was anointed. More on Athaliah and Joash
Charles-Antoine Coypel (French, 1694--1752)
The Crucifixion
Oil on canvas
129.5 x 103.5 cm. (51 x 40.7 in.)
Private collection
The crucifixion of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely between AD 30 and 33. Jesus' crucifixion is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles.
Jesus was arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin, and then sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally crucified by the Romans. Jesus was stripped of his clothing and offered wine mixed with myrrh or gall to drink before being crucified. He was then hung between two convicted thieves and died some six hours later. During this time, the soldiers affixed a sign to the top of the cross stating "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" which, according to the Gospel of John, was written in three languages. After Jesus' death, one soldier pierced his side with a spear to be certain that he had died. More on The crucifixion of Jesus
Charles-Antoine Coypel IV
Saint Thais in her Cell, c. 1736
Oil on canvas
84.2 cm (33.15 in.) x 61 cm (24.02 in.)
Château de Versailles, Greater Paris
St. Thaïs of fourth-century Roman Alexandria and of the Egyptian desert. Thaïs is first briefly described as a wealthy and beautiful courtesan living in the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria. Yet in the eyes of the church she was a public sinner. Thaïs, however, makes inquiries about the Christian religion and eventually converts. In her Vita a monk in disguise pays for entry into her chambers in order to challenge her and convert her, yet he finds that she already believes in God, from whom nothing is hidden. The identity of this person who instructs and offers Thaïs ways of spiritual transformation is unclear.
Following her acceptance into the Church, Thaïs is shown a convent cell where she is provisioned for three years. During her years of solitude she performs penance for her sins. When she later emerges, it is said, she lives among the nuns of the Egyptian desert only for a brief period of fifteen days, before she dies. More on St. Thaïs
Charles-Antoine Coypel (Paris 1694-1752)
St Piamun and Her Mother in an Egyptian Village, c. 1747Oil on canvas
106 x 78 cm
Private collection
The Virgin Piama was born and lived in the vicinity of Alexandria, Egypt. She was a follower of Christ who for His sake refused to marry and led an ascetic life in the home of her mother, as in a hermitage.
As it happened, a stronger village threatened to invade hers, and a crowd of men carrying spears and pointed sticks set out for her village, intent on destroying the village in their greed to divert water to their own fields when the Nile overflowed its banks. But an angel of the Lord appeared to Piama and told her of their wicked intent. This she reported to the village elders. The terrified elders fell on their knees before Piama and implored her to go to the neighboring people and dissuade them from their evil purpose.
Piama went back to her own house and stood all night in prayer. As the morning dawned, the invaders stood transfixed, like columns of stone, unable to move. As it was revealed to them that they had been brought to a halt through the prayers of the servant of Christ, Piama, they made peace with her village, saying, "Thanks be to God and the prayers of Piama that we were prevented from doing you any harm." More on St Piamun
He was born in an artistic family as the son of the painter Antoine Coypel and grandson of the painter Noël Coypel. He lived almost his whole life at the Louvre, from the age of three when his father was granted a brevêt de logement (residence permit) in 1697. He was a pupil of his father and was simultaneously agréé and reçu (which meant he became a full member) at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 31 August 1715.
Charles-Antoine Coypel (Paris 1694-1752)
The Destruction of the Palace of Armida , c. 1737
Oil on canvas
50 3/8 x 76 in. (128 x 193 cm.)
Private collection
An almost hallucinatory fantasy of madness, vengeance and black magic, The Destruction of the Palace of Armida is a unique masterpiece of French narrative painting of the eighteenth century and the chefd’oeuvre of Charles Coypel. Executed in 1737, it is associated with a suite of four designs by the artist that were commissioned by the French Crown between 1733 and 1741 for tapestries to decorate the private living quarters of Queen Marie Leszczynska at Versailles.
Coypel’s stunning canvas illustrates the spectacular final moments of the opera in which the sorceress, seated on a dragon, first devastated, then despairing, and finally enraged by Renaud’s abandonment of her, orders the demons to rise from Hell and demolish her magical palace in an orgy of destruction and self-immolation, ultimately offering her own body for sacrifice. More on this painting
Coypel, Charles-Antoine (Paris, 1694 - Paris, 1752)
Perseus delivering Andromeda, c. 1727
Oil on canvas
Height: 1.31 m; Width: 1.96 m
Louvre Museum
As he was flying over Africa in his return home, Perseus assed the kingdom of Ethiopia, he came upon the beautiful and helpless maiden Andromeda, chained to the rocks waiting to be devoured by a sea monster.
Perseus immediately fell in love with the lovely maiden and promptly killed Cetus the beast. More on Perseus delivering Andromeda
Nöel-Nicolas Coypel (1690–1734)
Birth of Venus, c. 1732
Oil on canvas
Height: 81 cm (31.8 in); Width: 65 cm (25.5 in)
Hermitage Museum
The story goes that the God Uranus had a son named Cronus who overthrew his father, castrating him and throwing his genitals into the sea. This caused the water to be fertilised, and Venus was born. After her birth she came ashore on a shell, pushed along by the breath of Zephyrus, the god of the west wind.
Pair to the painting "Bathing Diana" below. They entered the Hermitage between 1763 and 1770; the collection of Catherine the Great
Nöel-Nicolas Coypel (1690–1734)
The Bath of Diana, c. 1732
Oil on canvas
Height: 81 cm (31.8 in); Width: 65 cm (25.5 in)
Hermitage Museum
Charles-Antoine Coypel (1694–1752)
Fury of Achilles, c. 1737
Oil on canvas
Height: 147 cm (57.8 in); Width: 195 cm (76.7 in)
Hermitage Museum
Charles Coypel (French, 1694−1752)
Departure of Achilles to avenge the death of Patroclus, c. 1723
Oil on canvas
Height: 3.47 m; Width: 4.13 m
Louvre Museum
Thetis presents Achilles with the armor that Hephaestus has forged for him. She promises to look after Patroclus’s body and keep it from rotting while Achilles goes to battle. Achilles walks along the shore, calling his men to an assembly. At the meeting, Agamemnon and Achilles reconcile with each other, and Agamemnon gives Achilles the gifts that he promised him should Achilles ever return to battle. More on the Departure of Achilles
He inherited his father’s design and painting duties as premier peintre du roi (First Painter to the King) at the French court when his father died in 1722. He became premier peintre du roi and director of the Académie Royale in 1747. He worked on several commissions for paintings for the royal Palace of Versailles, and for Madame de Pompadour, the king’s mistress.
Coypel, Charles-Antoine (Paris, 1694 - Paris, 1752)
Cleopatra swallowing poison (Corneille, Rodogune)
Charles Coypel (French, 1694−1752)
The Wedding Feast of Angelica and Medor, c. 1733
Oil on canvas
Height: 3.05 m; Width: 6.15 m
Louvre Museum
Angelica and Medoro was a popular subject for Romantic painters, composers and writers from the 16th until the 19th century. Angelica and Medoro are two characters from the 16th-century Italian epic Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. Angelica was an Asian princess at the court of Charlemagne who fell in love with the Saracen knight Medoro, and eloped with him to China. While in the original work, Orlando was the main character, many adaptations focused purely or mainly on the love between Angelica and Medoro. More on Angelica and Medoro
Charles Coypel (French, 1694−1752)
Don Quixote Served by the Girls of the Inn, c. 1751
Oil on canvas
22 7/8 x 28 3/8 inches
Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris — Institut de France
Cervantes’s Don Quixote is considered by many to be among the greatest works of fiction ever written. From the publication in 1605 of the first of two volumes (the second followed ten years later, exactly 400 years ago), the novel enjoyed immense popularity. Reprints and translations spread across Europe, with the adventures of the knight Don Quixote and his companion, Sancho Panza, captivating the continental imagination and influencing both the performing and visual arts. More on Don Quixote
Coypel was an excellent tapestry designer. He designed tapestries for the Gobelins manufactory. His most successful tapestries were created from a series illustrating Don Quixote. Coypel was the first to illustrate Don Quixote in a sophisticated manner. These illustrations were painted as cartoons for tapestries, and were engraved and published in a deluxe folio in Paris in 1724.
Cleopatra swallowing poison (Corneille, Rodogune)
Oil on canvas
Height: 1.3 m; Width: 1.95 m
Louvre Museum
Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt, died from swallowing a lethal drug cocktail and not from a snake bite, a new study claims.
Coypel created twenty-eight small paintings for these tapestries over a number of years. Each of the paintings was used as the centrepiece of a larger area that was richly decorated with birds, small animals, and garlands of flowers on a patterned background. Over two hundred pieces of the Don Quixote series were woven between 1714 and 1794. He received a commission to design a series of theatrical scenes for tapestries for the queen of Poland in 1747. Coypel also wrote prose, several comedies, two tragedies, and some poetry.
Alongside his painting career, Coypel wrote some forty plays between 1717 and 1747. Only Les Folies de Cardenio (1720) was published. It was staged at the Tuileries Palace in 1721. In La Poésie et la Peinture (Allegory of Painting), allegorical comedy in three acts, the artist compared the qualities of both arts. The painter also realized works on the theme of the theater, including portraits of the Comédie-Française players Charlotte Desmares and Adrienne Lecouvreur. More on Charles-Antoine Coypel
Alongside his painting career, Coypel wrote some forty plays between 1717 and 1747. Only Les Folies de Cardenio (1720) was published. It was staged at the Tuileries Palace in 1721. In La Poésie et la Peinture (Allegory of Painting), allegorical comedy in three acts, the artist compared the qualities of both arts. The painter also realized works on the theme of the theater, including portraits of the Comédie-Française players Charlotte Desmares and Adrienne Lecouvreur. More on Charles-Antoine Coypel
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